Ottoman or stool



July 23, 1968 w, ELLSWORTH ET AL 3,393,940

OTTOMAN OR STOOL Filed Aug. 25, 1965 A TTORWEYS' United States Patent 3,393,940 OTTOMAN 0R STUUL Arthur- W. Ellsworth, South San Gabriel, and Robert K. Fujioka, Los Angeles, Calitl, assignors to Samsonite Corporation, Denver, Colo, a corporation of Colorado Filed Aug. 25, 1965, Ser. No. 432,432 3 Claims. (Cl. 297-439) ABSTRACT OF THE DESQLOSURE Patio furniture, such as a chaise lounge, chair, ottoman or stool, having an array of hollow slats connected by cables, rods or the like, with beads between, and a pair of longitudinally extending supports spaced apart the same distance as the cables or rods, beneath all or a portion of the slats.

This invention relates to Ottomans and stools or the like of the type which are commonly used outdoors as patio furniture.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction of ottomans or stools whose features incorporate simplicity and utility of construction, with a unique desirable appearance.

Another object of the invention is to provide ottomans or stools of an enhanced structural and artistic construction rendered possible by the selective use of metal and plastic bars and tubes for the components thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction of Ottomans or stools, a number of which may be stacked one above the other Other objects of the invention are to provide a novel and. improved construction of specific articles of furniture, including ottomans or stools which are neat appearing, low cost, rugged and durable units.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, all of which more fully hereinafter appear, our invention comprises certain constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts and elements as hereinafter described, defined in the appended claims and illustrated in preferred embodiments, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ottoman or stool, illustrating yet another embodiment of an article of furni ture constructed according to the teachings of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the body supporting means, per se, of the ottoman illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the frame of the ottoman illustrated in FIG. 1; and

F116. 4- is a condensed, fragmentary sectional detail, on an enlarged scale and taken from the indicated line 4--4 of FIG. 1.

The ottoman illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 is conventional in its basic arrangement, is formed as a simple, stool-like unit which is preferably symmetrical about longitudinal and transverse planes of the structure. The primary components of the ottoman comprise a frame F and a body supporting means S carried by the top of the frame. The body supporting means is supported throughout its reach across the stool, but the resiliency of the plastic tubing forming slats 42 renders the ottoman comfortable for use. Thus, not only does this construction provide an ottoman which is neat in appearance, but also provides for a simplified structure.

The body frame F includes a pair of inverted U-shaped side members of rigid tubular material interconnected by transverse headers. Each side member is bent to form a pair of generally upright front and rear legs 70 and 71,

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slightly inclined away from each other, with a foot 72 or '73 formed at the bottom of the respective leg, and a convex base rail 74 extending across the bottom of the unit and interconnecting the legs. It is to be noted that these front and rear legs are identical in form and arrangement, when the ottoman is a symmetrical unit. Thus, the terms front nad rear refer primarily to the showing in the drawings. The sides are rigidly held apart, in spaced parallelism, by a pair of upper headers 75 and 76 between the tops of the front and rear legs, respectively, and a pair of slightly lower headers 77 and 78 spaced below the respective headers 75 and 76. A pair of longitudinally disposed support bars 79 extend across the top of the unit, from the front transverse header 75 to the rear header 76, to support the slats 42. These support bars are spaced rearwardly from the sides and are positioned below the headers a distance sufficient to form an offset, as in FIG. 4, which permits the top surface of each header 75 and 76 to be flush with the top surfaces of the slats. The support bars 79 are also arched to a slight degree to form a crown, not only to enhance the appearance, but also the comfort of the ottoman.

The body supporting means S, which rests on these support bars, is formed as an array of transversely disposed slats 4-2 having spacer beads 44 between each slat. The slat array is carried by a pair of normally straight rods iti having a length slightly greater than the spacing between the headers '75 and 76. A hole 81 is drilled in each inner side of each header 75 and 76 at the position of each rod 8-1 in which the end of the rod is merely inserted. Accordingly, assembly of this unit is a simple matter, for once the slats 42 and the beads 44 are threaded upon each of the rods 80, the ends of the rods are set into the holes 81 of one header and are then flexed and arched to a point at which the opposite ends of the rods can be snapped into the holes 81 of the opposite header. The slats may then be further secured in place upon the support bars '79 by self-lock screws 82 extending through suitable holes 83 in the bars and into the slats, as in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The ottoman is also constructed so that a series thereof may be vertically stacked, due to the inclination of the legs away from each other, since one ottoman may be inserted from above into another ottoman, with the lower rail and legs, at each side, between the legs of the ottoman beneath. As in the case of the chair, the facing surface of legs and 71 may be provided with resilient buttons 68 for the same purpose.

It will be noted that, in lieu of the spacing beads 44, tubular metal slats, as of aluminum, may be utilized to space plastic slats apart.

While we have now described our invention in considerable detail, it is obvious that others skilled in the art may build and devise alternate and. equivalent constructions which are nevertheless within the spirit and scope of our invention. Hence, we desire that our pro tection be limited, not by the constructions illustrated and described, but only by the proper scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An ottoman or stool comprising:

a frame including laterally spaced pairs of front and rear legs and a transverse header connecting the upper ends of said front legs and said rear legs, the lower end of each front leg being connected to the lower end of the rear leg on the same side by an upwardly bowed side rail;

an array of transversely disposed slats connected by a pair of longitudinally disposed, laterally spaced rods;

21 pair of longitudinally extending, laterally spaced members connected between said headers and engaging the underside of said slats;

said front and rear legs on each side diverging upwardly from each other on each side; and

said front and rear legs and said side rails being spaced laterally outwardly from said slats, whereby one said ottoman or stool may be stacked vertically on another said ottoman or stool.

2. An ottoman or stool, comprising:

a frame including laterally spaced pairs of front and rear legs and a transverse header connecting the upper ends of said front legs and said rear legs, each header being hollow and provided with a pair of laterally spaced holes on the inside thereof with the holes in one header in a position opposite the holes of the other header;

an array of transversely disposed slats connected by a pair of longitudinally disposed rods spaced laterally to correspond with said holes in said headers;

a pair of longitudinally extending, upwardly cambered members connected between said headers below said holes a distance sufiicient to abut the underside of said slats with the ends of said rods in said holes; and

said rods 'being longer than the distance between said holes with said slats abutting said members and sufiiciently flexible that the corresponding ends of both rods may be inserted in said holes in one header, then said slats and rods may be flexed upwardly and the opposite ends of said rods inserted in the opposite holes and said rods and slats released so that said rods will maintain said slats in position on said members.

3. An ottoman or stool as defined in claim 2, wherein:

each said header extends laterally from said slats at each side; and

said front and rear legs on each side diverge upwardly from each other and are disposed outwardly from said slats, whereby one said ottoman or stool may be stacked on another said ottoman or stool with the legs of said one ottoman or stool received within said legs of the ottoman or stool beneath.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 673,580 5/1901 Lustig 5236 X 1,319,576 10/1919 Durden 5--236 2,000,624 5/1935 Traver 5236 2,619,154 11/1952 Erickson 297439 1,912,282 5/1933 Krebs 29744l 1,968,762 7/1934 Harnblin 297453 2,263,450 11/1941 Anderson 297-457 2,487,907 11/1949 Turner 297457 2,745,473 5/1956 Boland 297-231 2,812,013 11/1957 Kreciglowa 297359 2,916,085 12/1959 Panicci 297-357 3,186,757 6/1965 Hopkins 29728 FOREIGN PATENTS 569,155 10/1956 Italy. 655,660 7/1951 Great Britain.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

G. O. FINCH, Assistant Examiner. 

